Crikey

ABC2 Breakfast co-presenter Virginia Trioli was in whiplash mode while exploring the unfolding Gaza tragedy.

Dismissing the Hamas government which was elected in January 2006, Trioli told ABC2 viewers yesterday:

No-one’s been able to properly scrutinise that election result … which was roundly described as corrupt.

Not true. The election was monitored by a 185-strong European Union election observation mission from 23 EU member states. They were “deployed throughout the West Bank and Gaza to assess the whole electoral process in the light of international principles for genuine democratic elections”. The mission was headed by Ms Veronique De Keyser, a Socialist MEP from Belgium.

The official mission was joined by a 27-member delegation from the European Parliament led by a British Conservative MEP, Edward McMillan-Scott.

The mission concluded:

These elections (in Gaza and the West Bank) saw impressive voter participation in an open and fairly contested electoral process that was efficiently administered by a professional and independent Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC).

As with the 2005 presidential election, the Palestinian people have demonstrated an overwhelming commitment to determine their political future via democratic means, in spite of the uncertain conditions in which the elections took place.

Voting proceeded smoothly and peacefully with an impressive turnout of 77 per cent of the total number of registered voters. (It was 81 per cent in Gaza - AM).

Over 22 per cent of the candidates on national lists were women, a positive reflection of the new legal requirement to include a proportion of women candidates.

McMillan-Scott, leader of Conservative MEPs between 1997 and 2001, endorsed the final report which said the elections “marked another important milestone in the building of democratic institutions”. He added: “The conduct of these elections has provided a model for the wider Arab region and has clearly demonstrated the commitment of the Palestinian people to democracy.”

Final score: Palestinian democracy 1, ABC journalism 0.